ksylvan's Journal

P90X Round 3 Day 1: Chest and Back + Ab Ripper X
Jan 19 2009 20:12

Oh wow.

Today's workout was Chest and Back + Ab Ripper X.

My upper thighs are sore (from yesterday's run) and I made myself slightly nauseaus during my workout by pushing myself a bit too much, I think, but it was still good.

Relaxing the rest of the evening by watching House and 24.

Hope your Monday was a great one!

Running today
Jan 18 2009 06:30

I'll be leaving in about 20 minutes to drive to the starting place for my run this morning.

The beef barley stew smells so good! (see my previous journal entry if you are curious about the recipe)

I will update this entry once I come back from my run with a link to the TrailGuru entry.

I hope you are all having a great weekend!

Update: Here is the run I did today, with a few pictures along the way. We started at 8AM and finished a litlte after 9AM.

One thing I noticed: I am in a lot better shape than when I ran the San Jose Rock and Roll half marathon in early October. I was able to run the whole time without even the slightest discomfort. This is a good sign.

P90X Round 2: Day 90! (Rest Day + Another Crockpot)
Jan 17 2009 19:01

Finished with round 2 of P90X.

Tomorrow, I will be doing a 6 mile run in the morning.

I will start up again with P90X round 3 on Monday.

Today, I put together another crockpot:

1) Put some mini-potatoes sliced in half to cover the bottom of crockpot.
2) Cover with a layer of sliced celery stalks.
3) Add a layer of sliced carrots.
4) Add some peeled and quartered onions.
5) Add about 1/2 cup of barley.
6) Top the whole thing with cubed beef pieces (almost any kind works).
7) Add 3 cans of beef broth + 1 cup red wine.

The mixture is sitting in my fridge right now. I will put it on the crockpot at 1AM tomorrow morning, set on low for 11 hours so it will be ready for lunch tomorrow.

I will be running from 8AM to about 9AM in Santa Cruz (about an hour away from where I live), so after the run, I will probably hang out with my friends for about an hour and then drive back. I plan to be back home around 11AM, at which point I can stir the barley-beef stew and make last minute adjustments (like add more beef broth if needed) and eat at around noon.

It will be yummy!

Hope you are all having a great weekend!

P90X Round 2 Day 89: Yoga X
Jan 16 2009 07:00

Another Yoga-X workout this morning.

TGIF!!!

On Sunday, I will get together with my friends who are also running the Big Sur marathon and we will do our 6 mile run together.

P90X Round 2: Day 88 (Core Synergistics)
Jan 15 2009 10:24

Today's workout was the Core Synergistics DVD.

Later, I plan a 30 minute run (I will post a link to my TrailGuru run here when I finish it).

Update: Here is what my 30 minute run today looked like. Not bad.

Sad news: Riccardo Montalban dies at 88
Jan 14 2009 22:44

http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Ricardo_Montalban

P90X Round 2 Day 87: X-Stretch
Jan 14 2009 13:43

Today was another day of winding down. My scheduled workout was the X-Stretch DVD.

By mid-afternoon, I really had to do some more exercising, so I did a great 14 minute shovelglove set with my 12 pound sledgehammer that I keep in my cubicle at work. That is always a fun workout.

I hope you are all having a great week so far!

P90X Round 2 Day 86: Core Synergistics
Jan 13 2009 17:17

Today's P90X workout was Core Synergistics.

I also managed my 30 minute run (part of my buildup to the Big Sur Marathon in April).

Tonight is American Idol! Two hours of silliness!

Hope you are all having a great week!

P90X Round 2 Day 84: Rest Day
Jan 11 2009 16:47

Today was another rest day. I can't believe this round of P90X is almost over!

I put another crockpot together: Cream of mushroom soup, potatoes, chicken, celery, mushrooms, onions, and a bottle of merlot. Cut up the celery and onions and potatoes, throw them all in the pot, place chicken breasts on top, then throw in the sliced mushrooms, top with the soup, pour in the merlot and cook on low for 8-10 hours.

Started it early this morning. Made for a great lunch and probably dinner too.

Hope you are all having a great weekend!

Holy Mother of Mercy!!! (Tabata Intervals)
Jan 08 2009 19:57

I decided that I would do a few Tabata intervals (8 sets of 20-seconds FULL OUT EFFORT and 10 second rest periods) tonight because I felt like it. Yes, I guess I need a life. A whole tabata interval takes four minutes.

In my head, I thought: 1) Running on the elliptical, 2) Pullups, 3) Pushups, and 4) Running down the block and back.

I had forgotten just how torturous the Tabata protocol can be.

I put my headphones in and started on the elliptical. First burst of energy. First rest period. So far so good. Second burst of energy. Second rest period. Have to breathe deep now. No problem. Third set... shit!!... I'm not even halfway through.... Oooomph! Third rest period. Thank God! Fourth burst of effort. Oh my goodness. I am starting to poop out. Fourth rest period. Breathing real deep and sweating now. Fifth one!!! OMFG my lungs are burning and my legs feel rubbery! Ugh. Fifth rest period. Sixth sprint. I can do anything for twenty seconds. Just push it... Push through... Sixth rest. Really sweating buckets now. My heart feels like it's going to pop out of my chest. Seventh burst of energy. Legs are really rubbery now and my lungs are continuously burning. Seventh rest period. I made it! Last one with full effort: Push it now! Bring it! Bring it! Final rest period!!! YES!!!!

I stepped off the elliptical, feeling both crappy and elated. Okay. One down, three more exercises to go.

The pullups interval was a total flop. After the second set of maximal effort, I had to switch back and forth between situps and pullups, alternating between sets. After this set, I rested for a full two minutes before going to the next exercise: pushups.

After the first three sets of pushups, I had to go down to my knees to keep pumping out pushups. When I finished the last set, I again rested for a full two minutes.

The final four minute interval run was torturous, but also very fun (I was giddy with the realization that I had done what I said I would do and was DONE).

So... That's what it felt like to do my interval training tonight. I won't do it every day, but from my experience, I know that 20-30 minutes of this kind of thing thrice a week will really affect my performance with everything else I am doing.

Have a good night, my friends!